hold

(=clasp, grasp)tenirShe held the baby.Elle tenait le bébé.→ Hold the baby while I load the car.→ I held the box tight to my chest.Can you hold this for a minute?Tu peux me tenir ça une minute?

(=keep, maintain)Hold your hands in front of your face.Levez vos mains devant vos yeux.to hold one's back straightse tenir droitto hold sth shutmaintenir qch fermé(e)→ the wooden wedge which held the heavy door shutto hold sth openmaintenir qch ouvert(e)→ the wooden wedge which held the heavy door opento hold the door open for sb
[person]tenir la porte à qn→ I held the door open for herto hold one's head high
(=refuse to be ashamed)garder la tête haute→ in public she has held her head high and stayed diplomatically silent→ a national team that could hold its head high in the competitionto hold one's own
[person]bien se défendre→ he held his own in the cut and thrust of the debate→ he has shown he is more than capable of holding his own in the Premiershipto hold one's own against sb
[person]tenir tête à qn→ She can hold her own against almost any player.For a time they held their own against the imperial troops.Pendant un temps, ils tinrent tête aux troupes impériales.to hold one's breathretenir sa respiration→ I held my breath and sank under the water.don't hold your breath!ça n'arrivera peut-être pas de sitôt !→ "Next thing you know, I'll be dancing at your wedding," he cried. "Don't hold your breath," my father replied.to hold sb's interestmaintenir l'intérêt de qn→ All these tales of giants and trolls knocking each other's heads off succeeded in holding the children's interest.It's hard to hold their interest.Il est difficile de maintenir leur intérêt.→ Students don't seem to have the attention span they used to. It's hard to hold their interest.to hold sb's attentionmaintenir l'attention de qn en éveilIt's done in a way that will hold children's attention.C'est fait de manière à maintenir en éveil l'attention des enfants.Stein is an impressive public speaker capable of holding the attention of large audiences for hours at a stretch.Stein est un orateur impressionnant, capable de maintenir en éveil l'attention de son auditoire pendant des heures de rang.

(=cause to take place)[+meeting]tenir[+election, referendum]tenir→ the Government will hold a referendum on the euro[+inquiry, investigation]ouvrir→ The government said it would hold an investigation.to hold a meetingtenir une réunionto hold talks with sbs'entretenir avec qn→ the FAI said it had already held talks with officials from the Department of SportHe has recently held talks with his advisers.Il s'est récemment entretenu avec ses conseillers.

(=grip)prise fHe released his hold on the camera.Il relâcha sa prise sur l'appareil photo.to grab hold of sth/sb
(=grasp)se saisir de qch/qn→ I was woken up by someone grabbing hold of my sleeping bag.to catch hold of sth/sb
(=grab)se saisir de qch/qnA doctor and a nurse caught hold of his arms.Un médecin et une infirmière se saisirent de ses bras.to take hold of sth/sb
(=grab)attraper qch/qnMother took hold of the barking dogs by their collars.Mère attrapa les chiens qui aboyaient par leur collier.to take hold of sb
(=overwhelm)
[emotion, excitement]s'emparer de qnShe felt a strange excitement taking hold of her.Elle sentit une étrange excitation s'emparer d'elle.to get hold of sth/sb
(=grab)se saisir de qch/qnHe got hold of my arm.Il se saisit de mon bras.
(=manage to find)mettre la main sur qch/qn→ It is hard to get hold of guns in this country→ I need to get hold of BobI couldn't get hold of it.Je n'ai pas réussi à mettre la main dessus.

(fig)emprise f→ a hold that was impossible to break.to have a hold over sbavoir une emprise sur qnBecause he once loved her, she still has a hold on him.Parce qu'il l'avait jadis aimée, elle avait toujours une emprise sur lui.

to put sth on holdmettre qch en attente→ He put his retirement on hold to work 16 hours a day.

(on phone)
to put sb on holdmettre qn en attente

[+ship]cale f→ They used to fish those waters and come back with full holds.

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hold againstvt septo hold sth against sbtenir rigueur de qch à qn→ 'You're forgetting all the trouble he caused.' -- `He was only a boy. You're not going to hold that against him?I don't hold it against him.Je ne lui en tiens pas rigueur.→ He lost the case, but never held it against me.

(=hinder, inhibit)[+person]
[situation, conditions]être un obstacle pour
[person]brider[+recovery]retarder→ Stagnation in home sales is holding back economic recoveryShe wanted to be an actress but her dyslexia held her back.Elle voulait être actrice, mais sa dyslexie a été un obstacle pour elle.She's very ambitious, so don't try to hold her back.Elle est très ambitieuse, n'essaie pas de la brider.to hold sb back from doing sthretenir qn de faire qch→ the lack of trust that holds us back from opening up fully to othersSydney's pride held him back from relying on her too much.C'est son orgueil qui retenait Sydney de trop dépendre d'elle.What's holding him back from making a final decision?Qu'est-ce qui le retient de prendre une décision sans appel ?

vi
(=hesitate before acting)temporiserThe administration had several reasons for holding back.L'administration avait ses raisons de temporiser.to hold back from doing sthattendre avant de faire qch→ I don't see why he would have held back from telling us.Ministers held back from making the bad news public.Les ministres ont attendu avant de rendre publique la mauvaise nouvelle., Les ministres ont retardé la diffusion de la mauvaise nouvelle.

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hold downvt sep

(physically)
[+person]maintenir à terre→ It took three men to hold him down.

[person]They threatened military action but have held off until now.Ils ont menacé d'intervenir militairement mais n'ont rien fait jusqu'à maintenant.to hold off doing sth, He has held off planting the seeds.Il a remis les plantations à plus tard.

... when it is for the public good, such as where a doctor needs to take pictures of children to either educate others or to produce materials, such as two 12 year olds holding hands or kissing, for a sex education class.

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